Tempe, AZ, Day Two

Ginger is settling in nicely. 

When we picked up Leia today, Ginger was snuggled under Leia’s blankets and refused to come out. 

She was fascinated by the snakes last night, and is curled into Leia’s side tonight. 

I think she’s still feeling the drugs from the plane ride - yesterday her pupils were the size of a dime, today they’re almost back to normal. Happy Ginger, happy Leia.

Leia wanted us to have breakfast at Butters Restaurant in Scottsdale - OMGGGGG some of the best food we’ve ever had. 

Plus we had a window seat to watch the wind storm come thru (we were on the fringe of things) followed by pouring rain. Leia keeps laughing at us because we’re amazed at how much water - rain-wise and river-lake-wise - there is in this desert!

The rest of the afternoon was at OdySea Aquarium, also in Scottsdale. 

I thought it odd when the ticket lady said ‘check out the bathrooms, then head upstairs.’ 

Y’all! They had windows looking into one of the tanks, 

with sharks swimming by every few seconds. 

And fishbowl lights (with real fish) on the first floor ceiling. So cool. 

OdySea has the biggest collection of different turtles I’ve ever seen. Most are rescues who couldn’t survive in the wild. 

Leia especially liked the Paddlefish 

Paddlefish with wide-open mouth

and the Ripsaw Catfish.

My favs, as always, are the jelly fish (cuttlefish?) displays, 

including a new one to me - 

the Upside-down Jellyfish. 

Hard to photograph in the dim light tho. 

Tomorrow is the Museum of Illusions, 

Monday we’re taking Leia and her friends to Medieval Times for dinner 

 The rays kept swerving just out of Leia’s reach 

and Tuesday we fly home. 

It’s been a whirlwind but so much fun. (Want to know what I forgot to pack? My 🤬 glasses. Regular and sun. I’m blaming Ginger…) 

 Sloth fingers

More pics: 

 Athena ⬆️⬇️

 Mr Toucan had sooooo many toys hanging in his enclosure 

 Street car runs right in front of Leia’s apartment 

A Tale of Two Cats

I was going to title this ‘my cat is an AH’ but I’m starting to see the humor. 

Coco always greets us whenever we come downstairs. She wants treats and she’s noisy about it. So when she didn’t appear on Thursday, we started looking. I could hear faint cries when I called but couldn’t pinpoint the sound. Checked the living room camera and the last time she appeared was Tuesday evening. We searched a few hours, then called the fire department hoping they had heat imaging cameras (they didn’t) but they searched for a while too.   

Finally called Gary, since maybe younger ears could pinpoint her cries better. His reaction? ‘I know exactly where she is.’ He stuck his head through the attic access, flashed his laser pointer into the nether regions, and sure enough, guess whose head popped up then disappeared again. (See red arrow above.) Turns out this happens regularly on his HVAC calls - cats love attics. He also found where she climbed the wood studs in our bedroom and gained access by ripping the plastic covering where the ceiling used to be. ⬇️

Gary said cats always come down eventually - the four fire guys said the same thing about cats and trees - so he shoved a board in so she wouldn’t have to walk on insulation to get back. Then we put a toy, food, water and a ladder by the attic entry and walked away. ⬇️

I went back an hour later and bingo! she was sitting on the edge like nothing had happened. Grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and wrestled her down the 10’ ladder. Was she grateful? Heck no. She was looking for a way back up before Pop finished taping off all access to construction zones. 

The reason for the urgency in finding her? 

We were leaving at o-dark-thirty the next morning to take Ginger to live with Leia in Arizona. Leia and her college roommates wanted a cat… Ginger was not happy in a 2-cat household (she still refused to come out of the upstairs bedroom)… so Ginger got her first plane ride. 

Remember in July when G took a week to stop hiding in the closet and let me pet her the first time? 

Yeah, she’s rubbing against Leia tonight, demanding cuddles, and establishing herself as queen of the world. I’m so happy for both of them. 

 Spot the scary ghost cat

A story..

Me: Did you get the cat box and litter? (I’d sent her a list of kitty must-haves.)

Leia: Nooooo, I’ll get it tomorrow…

Me: … … get your shoes. Where’s the nearest pet store? (G had been crated almost 12 hours by then.)

Ginger: Ahhhhhhh

 Leia text: ‘She found the toilet.’

What Phase Is This Again??

Monday we got the all-clear on the mold re-test, 

so Tuesday most of the plastic came down (hubby decided to keep the floor covered since we’ll be painting soon) and the NOISY fans finally got turned off and taken away. Oh blessed quietude. 

Leo FaceTimed tonight so I could walk her thru making Porcupines, a family favorite. Made my grandma heart so happy. 

There’s no written recipe - I always used a bit of this and a glug of that until it looked right. It’s one of those things that almost always turns out great (except for that time Leia used tomato paste instead of tomato sauce…)

Coco says happy October… 

or is that just a yawn?

Love how Rachel’s Lego wreath turned out!

The last legacy plant is in the ground. I wanted 3 plants saved from the front yard redo - 

a vine that was originally in my mom’s yard 

(we’ve moved it a couple of times now, not sure it’s going to survive this last one); 

a beautiful potted succulent I loved, but the demo crew got to it first 😩; 

and a bird of paradise Matt and Mary gave me when they moved to SC. It’s looking a little ragged but I’m hoping it will make a comeback.